Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

10 March 2004

GENERAL JONES

• AP writes that conceding that NATO’s response to a UN request to expand its presence in Afghanistan has been slow, Gen. Jones sought Wednesday to increase pressure on the allies to cough up troops and equipment this week. “The force has to be generated…. I would like it to be done as quickly as possible. There are nations that should be encouraged to do more and I intend to do that aggressively,” the dispatch quotes Gen. Jones saying at SHAPE headquarters. Speaking to reporters on the eve of a meeting of allied commanders to generate force for the mission, adds the dispatch, Gen. Jones said the U.S.-led combat force fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants had reduced the number of active insurgents to around 1,000. According to the dispatch, Gen. Jones said that success ensured that about two-thirds of the country is relatively free from direct threat. The dispatch notes that plans to expand ISAF beyond Kabul have been delayed by the reluctance of allied nations to commit troops to a mission judged expensive and dangerous. Stressing, however, that “Gen. Jones is hopeful that’s changing,” the dispatch further quotes SACEUR saying: “The response has been encouraging. There’s a long way to go … but nations have reacted well.” The dispatch adds that outlining the Alliance’s plans, Gen. Jones said NATO aimed to take charge of the relatively peaceful northern sector of Afghanistan by late June. The dispatch continues: “In a second phase, NATO plans to set up three more PRTs in a western sector centered on the city of Herat. Longer term, the Alliance is considering further extending its network of peacekeeping teams in provincial centers to cover the whole country, taking charge of the dozen such teams currently run separately under the U.S.-led anti-Taliban operation.”

Gen. Jones’ remarks, in a testimony to a Belgian Senate Committee Tuesday, are generating interest.
“Gen. Jones said in Brussels Tuesday the United States will significantly reduce its nuclear weapons in Europe,” reports La Libre Belgique. The article adds that responding to queries by Belgian senators regarding the presence of nuclear weapons in Belgium and the risk of a U.S. plane carrying nuclear weapons crashing on Belgian soil, Gen. Jones said: “The reduction will be significant. Good news is on the way.” The article notes that while not explicitly mentioning nuclear weapons at Kleine Brogel, Gen. Jones confirmed that in the post-Cold War era, the United States had other priorities. Stressing, however, that the presence of nuclear weapons at Kleine Brogel is an open secret, the article adds: “The U.S. plan mentioned by Gen. Jones is on a much larger scale since it aims at a worldwide redeployment of U.S. forces…. Gen. Jones also insisted on deep changes within NATO. Missions have changed. Yesterday’s enemy—the USSR and the Warsaw Pact—has collapsed…. The threat now comes from drug trafficking, terrorist networks and criminal organizations. ‘We have too many forces with a defensive character. We need … proactive forces able to intervene globally,’ Gen. Jones said. One of the responses to these threats is the new NATO Response Force…. But armies must also restructure as is the case for Belgium, ‘an important and faithful’ NATO partner…. Many efforts must still be made. Gen. Jones indicated that European NATO members have an excess of 177 land brigades, that there are 2.4 million Europeans in uniform but that in reality, ‘we need about 40 percent less.’ With NATO’s enlargement, which will be celebrated on April 2, the ISAF mission in Afghanistan is the main priority for NATO. For Gen. Jones, an intervention against drug traffickers in Afghanistan—thus the warlords—is indispensable.” A related Reuters dispatch centers on Gen. Jones’ statement that Afghan fighters are close to defeat. In a testimony to a Belgian Senate committee, says the dispatch, Gen. Jones said the U.S.-led war on diehard Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan is almost over and three quarters of the country is now stable and secure. He said there were still serious problems of feuding warlords and drug-trafficking, and the government was struggling to impose its control beyond Kabul. But, he added, “we should be clear about the fact that the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban as fighters is virtually, almost complete.” The dispatch quotes Gen. Jones saying: “If you were to color code Afghanistan today … green meaning secure and stable, yellow meaning somewhat dangerous and red meaning very dangerous, three-quarters of the entire country would be green by any evaluation today.” Noting that the allies will come under further pressure to offer resources this week at a “force generation” conference for ISAF’s expansion, the dispatch further quotes Gen. Jones saying: “It’s important that nations understand that the political appetite to do more in Afghanistan cannot simply be that. There is a bill to pay, there are resources to provide.” Italy’s ANSA news agency highlights Gen. Jones’ message that the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban fighters is virtually almost complete.

BALKANS

• According to AFP, Bosnia’s presidency said Wednesday it would send a de-mining unit to Iraq by September, comprising soldiers from the country’s two post-war entities. The dispatch remarks that NATO-led peacekeepers in Bosnia recently suggested the creation of a joint military de-mining unit for overseas deployment, utilizing the expertise of soldiers who have been clearing Bosnia of mines since the end of the war. It also stresses that “Bosnia is seeking to change its image from a country dependent on international troops to one that is able to contribute to international security and join Euro-Atlantic structures like NATO.”